A few weeks ago this watch, and several others like it, came into a Pawnbroker's store for a loan.

It had all the information you would hope to see... purchase receipt, warranty card, etc. 

The Watch Register check came back clear!

Every part of this package passed the initial check. Even the warranty card, with its embedded chip, behaved exactly as it should.

The box was 100% genuine.

The receipt matched the serial number on the card and watch - the receipt was AI-generated.

The card, which fooled experienced Rolex dealers with decades of experience, is a highly sophisticated fake.

Opening the watch, the movement balance was confirmed as authentic. The balance is a real Rolex part, swapped into a fake movement. The winding rotor the same.

Would you have bought or loaned against this watch?

Would you have valued this for insurance, or would you have been happy to underwrite it without further research?

Base your decision on any single one of these factors, and you make an expensive mistake. Add up the subtle clues from the entire watch and alarm bells start to ring.

The latest developments in counterfeiting are covered in The Watch Scholar’s ‘Authenticating Watches’ course, with the content regularly updated to keep pace with the output from China. Head towww.thewatchscholar.comto book.

For an additional pair of expert eyes on the watches you take in, The Watch Scholar offers a rapid response support service to Pawnbrokers, where we can advise on authenticity, value, and a wide variety of other watch-related issues.

Since launching The Watch Scholar, we have assessed thousands of watches and identified dozens of fakes, helping our partners avoid significant losses.